Book excerpt: Even a quick glance at popular books, movies, and streaming series says it all-- a skillful application of tropes sells stories. That's because tropes create a foundation between the audience and the action. I'm not suggesting we slap a few tropes together, and call it done. I'm talking about twisting tropes to create characters that fans can't stop thinking about to increase story conflict. How do we do that? By digging down into the functions of tropes. But isn't a trope just a trope? What do secret baby, road trip, and revenge have in common? Conflict. Conflict. Conflict. The Trope Thesaurus explores tropes common in romance, mystery, suspense, thriller, science fiction, and fantasy. It also features a listing of tropes with their definitions, along with some ideas about how to use them more effectively to craft stronger stories. New and established writers will appreciate this different take on a craft topic in the quest to become a fan favorite.